For residence life teams and student accommodation operations managers, the daily checklist is always demanding. From building community to managing occupancy, student housing teams juggle a wide range of responsibilities. Yet recent student feedback shows that a positive student experience often depends on how consistently the basics are delivered – particularly maintenance.
In our 2024 joint GSL and CUBO Closing the Gap research report on the experience of vulnerable students in student accommodation, poorly managed maintenance was highlighted as a key cause of distress for students, particularly those with a disability and those who are neurodivergent. The research highlighted that mechanical failures, such as malfunctioning lifts, and poor communication around repairs can cause extreme stress, anxiety and, in some cases, severe mobility challenges.
Maintenance issues remain a recurring theme across each wave of the GSL Index. To better understand students’ concerns, we reviewed maintenance-related free-text comments from the latest wave of the Index to identify key issues students are experiencing and the practical changes they would most like to see.
Key maintenance themes from student feedback
The comments cluster around operational themes that have a direct impact on students’ day-to-day comfort, wellbeing and sense of safety.
1. Core infrastructure: water, heating, lifts and appliances
Basic utilities remain among the most important drivers of student satisfaction. A significant proportion of feedback focused on failing heating systems, inconsistent hot water, broken kitchen or laundry appliances, and lifts being out of service for extended periods.
Improve maintenance, I’ve had no hot water for three days, and my blinds have been stuck partly open for months…
The building is really old, and there are things like the heating frequently going wrong — we need a permanent fix to all of this.
Our lift wasn’t working for two months or even more.
The comments about lifts deserve particular attention. For some students, a lift being out of service is an inconvenience; for others, it can make their building effectively inaccessible. We know that providers are aware of this issue and that, in some cases, supply chain constraints can affect the availability of parts. However, the volume and intensity of free-text comments from students with a disability about lift failures is a clear signal that this issue needs visibility at every level of an organisation — from maintenance and residential teams through to senior leadership.
Critically, a student’s disability may not be visible, or they may not have disclosed an impairment precisely because their building has a lift. For many students, lifts are essential to their mobility in daily life rather than a nice-to-have feature. Ensuring that this understanding is embedded across teams — and that lift repairs are escalated accordingly — is part of providing genuinely inclusive accommodation.
One student’s comment illustrates the seriousness of the issue:
The frequent fact that the elevator breaks for weeks at a time is inconvenient and painful (for my heart condition), especially when doing laundry. Part of my treatment involves monitoring my heart and making sure it doesn’t spike several times a day. This is impossible with university and completing regular day-to-day activities, with the lift always being broken. I can handle and excuse a couple of days of the elevator being broken, but not the majority of the year. It’s discouraging to know that there’s no sense of responsibility coming from the accommodation team, especially at times when I physically cannot excuse it.
2. Routine maintenance and pre-move-in checks
Students frequently noted a gap between what they expected on arrival and the physical reality of their rooms. Many of the issues described were minor in isolation, but cumulative in their impact on morale.
If I could improve one thing, it would be addressing minor maintenance issues such as small to medium-sized cracks in the walls, as fixing these can improve the overall comfort and appearance…
One thing I would improve is the mattress because it’s very old and it’s hurting our backs… There are also holes in the walls, so it’s not very welcoming or aesthetic.
Staff ensuring nothing is damaged or broken before students move in.
This last point connects to something we know from more than a decade of GSL Index data – a student’s move-in day experience sets the tone for their tenancy and has a measurable impact on satisfaction. There is also a strong relationship between move-in experience and the likelihood of renewal, with residents reporting a “very good” move-in experience significantly more likely to renew than those who had a negative one.
Experienced student housing managers know that the turnover process needs to start well before students move out, often during the spring semester, because the window to complete major works is so compressed. Summer is typically the only period when maintenance crews and external contractors can carry out significant work, and scheduling during that window is tight. Even with the best intentions, the sheer volume of units to turn around in a short period creates genuine pressure.
However, getting maintenance right before students receive their keys is, quite literally, an investment in occupancy, student wellbeing and satisfaction.
3. Communication and response times
Student comments suggest that dissatisfaction with maintenance is often not only about the repair itself, but about how the request is handled. Students expressed anxiety over delayed responses and frustration when they did not know whether an issue had been logged, when a technician would arrive, or how long a repair would take.
Quicker repairs and better communication about fixing requests.
The communication around maintenance and updates. While issues are eventually resolved, clearer timelines and more regular updates would make the experience feel more organised and reassuring.
An easier way to track and follow maintenance requests.
My cupboard is broken, and my door doesn’t lock, and it’s been an issue since September … I just wish the repair team could just be a bit faster with the repairs and a bit more on it because we’re currently in Feb and it’s been broken since September. Like nobody has come. That’s literally the only concern.
Student comments highlight that silence can turn a manageable maintenance issue into a source of frustration and anxiety. Even where repairs take time, better communication can help students feel that their concern has been heard and is being actively managed.
4. Drainage, damp and bathroom fixtures
Bathroom layouts and poor ventilation were also common complaints, with multiple students noting that poorly draining showers led to minor flooding, standing water and subsequent mould growth.
I know there are issues with many shower drains where they have not been cleaned since the last person in the room, causing the wet room to flood.
There’s a lot of humidity in my room, so there’s a constant need to remove mould, and I find that very annoying and hard to live with.
While these issues may appear routine from a facilities perspective, they have a significant effect on how students experience their accommodation. Persistent damp, mould, flooding or poor ventilation can quickly affect comfort, perceived cleanliness and trust in the provider.
What changes do students want to see?
Student comments highlight three main areas where they would like to see improvement.
- Transparent request tracking: Students value visibility. Just as they can track a food delivery, they want a way to follow the progress of their maintenance tickets. Knowing that a part is on back order or seeing an expected timeline for a repair reduces anxiety far more effectively than radio silence.
- Rigorous pre-arrival inspections: A recurring frustration for students is moving into a room with pre-existing damage, such as torn cushions, broken window latches, worn-out mattresses or marks on walls. Investment in turnover-maintenance systems and stronger proactive auditing before move-in week can help prevent early-semester backlogs and, as the retention data suggest, pay dividends well beyond the first week.
- Better drainage, ventilation and bathroom fixtures: Students also want practical improvements to bathrooms, including better shower drainage to avoid flooding and, in some cases, more modern fixtures such as mixed-temperature single taps rather than traditional separated hot and cold taps.
Looking forward
Reviewing this feedback reminds us that maintenance is not just an operations or facilities concern – it is integral to residence life and student pastoral care. When a student is left without heating, when a repair request goes unanswered for months, or when a lift is out of order for an extended period, the impact can extend to mental health, sense of safety, accessibility and academic performance.
More broadly, refining communication loops, introducing automated maintenance tracking updates and ensuring pre-move-in operational checks are thorough are likely to reduce many of these friction points. The student voices captured here are a useful reminder that the difference between keeping a building running and making it feel like home often comes down to the basics being done consistently well, rather than premium extras.
